Sigurdardottir AS¹*, Geirsdottir OG², Ramel A² and Arnadottir IB¹ 

¹Faculty of Odontology, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland 
²Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland

*Corresponding Author: Sigurdardottir AS, Faculty of Odontology, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland.

Received: January 24, 2022; Published: February 14, 2022

Abstract

Background and aims: Old adults in nursing homes have often poor oral health and malnutrition. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between oral health and nutrition related problems in Icelandic nursing home residents.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included older adults (> 67 years, N = 82) from two nursing homes from the Reykjavik capital area, Iceland. Two dentists performed a clinical examination using the Oral Health Survey form and a clinical dentist collected further data. Information on nutrition related problems (possible range from 0 to 8) were retrieved from the Oral Health Impact Profile.

Results: The mean decayed, missed and filled teeth (DMFT) index was around 26, however, still 42% of participants rated their oral health as good. Two thirds of the participants were in need of dental therapy and a similar proportion of participants had the last dentist's visit > 1 year ago. More than 40% had complete dentures and the number of nutrition related problems was 4.8 ± 2.5.

According to age and sex adjusted analysis, poor DMFT was significantly related to difficulties to chew, avoiding certain foods, stop eating food and to not being able to eat, however, not to changes in taste perception. Having complete dentures was very similarly associated with these nutrition related problems. Length of residence was related to changes in taste perception and difficulties to chew, however no significant relations could be seen between need for dental therapy, last dentist's visit and nutrition related problems.

Conclusion: In Icelandic nursing home residents oral health is poor and there is a great need for improved oral care. The frequency of nutrition related problems related to malnutrition is high and poor oral health is significantly associated with these problems as it is length of residence.

Keywords: Oral Health; Malnutrition; Old Adults

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Citation

Citation: Sigurdardottir AS., et al. “Oral Care, Oral Health and Associated Nutrition Related Problems in Icelandic Nursing Home Residents". Acta Scientific Nutritional Health 6.3 (2022): 38-45.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2022 Sigurdardottir AS., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.